Planning a circumnavigation on my vstrom 650. I prefer to go soft luggage and currently own the Giant Loop system that I used a lot in Australia. But down there security was less of a concern, and tumors speak that South America deserves a bit more security.

I am not the worry type but if the consensus is that hard lockable is the way to go I would consider it.

I am traveling solo.

Lots of debate Hard vs. Soft. A ton written here and elsewhere. I've used both going back over 20 years and 4 or 5 different bikes including a Vstrom.

IMO, a key issue concerns how much Off Road is intended. Using hard bags adds substantial weight with bags themselves and the racks that support them.

On my DR650 I eliminated 35 lbs. (16 kgs.) Givi hard bags + racks, hardware. On the DR650 this was huge and I could really feel the difference off road. Wow!

Also, more weight can mean bike and components get beat on harder, things can break: racks themselves (common problem), wheels, Shocks, Sub Frame, premature wear on bearings.

If riding primarily ON Road then, IMO, hard bags are OK, but don't cry when you get to that technical muddy 5 mile detour and the bike falls over 10 times or you have to ride 20 miles of horrible Wash board corrugations. (frame breakers!) Weight is critical!

Never assume gear is safe in a hard locking box. Yes, locked hard panniers typically will put off amateur snatch & grab thief but won't slow down anyone serious/skilled. Most locks on hard bags can be busted into in 1 minute by a 14 year old with a screw driver. But they DO look secure to unschooled and keep most honest people honest.

The best thing about hard bags is when stopping briefly in a city/town and want to do a "walk around" without having to Lock Down the whole bike. But chances are you'll still have to remove a fair amount of items before leaving the bike: GPS, Comm's equip., tank bag, tail bag, ect. ect. So no perfect way here.

Plusses to Soft Bags:
1. Weight. This, IMO, is the big one. 2. Better crash survival than hard boxes.
3. Less chance to trap and break your leg the way hard bags do.
4. Use waterproof INNER BAG LINERS for grab & go convenience at hostel or hotel. Panniers stay ON the bike, only inner bags go inside. Off/On under 30 seconds. (of course you should use inner bags with hard bags too!)

When stopping you can either find secure parking or have someone watch bike (its cheap!) Or ... use a Pac Safe steel cable system. Quite good!

I don't like GL bags. Too hard to see what is inside and too hard to find anything without pulling the whole bag OFF the bike. I prefer pannier style where I can stay organized with various compartments. Use colored stuff sacks in any case to make finding things easier/faster. GL bags also ride TOO HIGH and put TOO much weight too far back. Soft panniers can rider lower and further forward for better Mass Centralization. Critical for good handling.

A ton more Plus and Minus for both systems. I use hard panniers on my 1050 Tiger (highway only) but only soft bags on my DR650 (on/off road).
Good luck!

Traveling latin america solo (about 1.5 years) I never once wanted additional security over soft luggage. Though my bike was always off the street at night, which was typically very easy to arrange. Even at borders I just parked near a group of officials and walked away without any concern. I had started with hard cases but they were always a nuisance to deal with, made dirt roads more difficult (I typically avoid pavement) and required many repairs.

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Traveling The World Since: 2011
Blog: The Seductive Life (General Travel)

South America is as safe as you get sparing a few exceptions. I've been north to south and half way back and never had one thing go missing. Practically every mall had security, and secure parking is easy to find in general. If you want to take soft then absolutely do so.

Soft luggage all the way. I'm in Peru now. The versatility and the ability to withstand falls without needing a tinsmith to fix makes it the right choice.

Thanks all for responses. It seems to make sense and Mollydog as much as I'd love to try a different setup all I have is GL right now and little money to try something else. Unless you have recommendations. I like that GL can fit any bike since I plan to keep different bikes in different continents.

No worries, you're used to using the GL so go with it.
The GL's do work on any bike ... especially good on dirt bikes which most bags won't work on.

I own hard and soft luggage and struggle with this choice all the time. To me, the two big drawbacks to hard boxes are:


I personally know two people who have had minor crashes, had the bike land on them and the boxes break their leg. Not a small thing. The other is that hard boxes seem to amplify road vibrations. anything besides clothes needs to be well padded. I have had tools disassemble themselves, and anything hard beats itself to death.


That said, they keep my mind at ease much better during a stop at a restaurant, or a border station. My valuable stuff (electronica) is in a magnetic tank bag that comes with me. No hard and fast answer.

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Andy Tiegs
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/ts...lsouth-america